by Kim Hornsby
“Sounds bueno,” Carlos said. “It might be better when you can’t look directly into the camera. If your eyes are bouncing around, not hitting the lens of the camera, our distance might be a good excuse.”
“Exactly.” I imagined Eve shooting Carlos a look to say ‘shut up’ but could never be sure about these things. I placed the last dish in the rack and dried my hands on the dish towel hung over my shoulder. “Another accomplishment,” I said. “I did the dishes.” What I hadn’t yet tried as a blind person could fill the Seattle Seahawks football stadium.
I patted Eve’s shoulder in camaraderie, as I bumped against her. “Thanks for helping me do the dishes. Next stop, dying my hair teal, please and thank you.” I needed Eve for stuff like this and there was no getting around it. Eve was on duty a lot these days. When Hodor graduated from service dog school, I’d be able to give Eve more freedom but until he did all his training and passed his tests, I had to rely on these two so much, including my on-screen look. Eve would always have to help me with this. Hairdressing and makeup was not something Hodor was learning in service dog school.
“I’m going to wear the camo jacket with a low-cut black top tonight,” I told Eve as she led me upstairs. “I want to look slightly sexy, if you can help me achieve that look.”
“I’m thinking smoky eyes and blood red lips,” Eve said.
Eve was great with makeup, being a fan of anime and cosplay. Dressing up like cartoon characters at those conventions where everyone spends weeks getting their costumes to look like Japanese cartoon characters was right up Eve’s alley.
As we mounted the stairs to prepare for the witching hour, I thought about what Joan had said today. Every time I saw the elusive museum curator, she let out a tiny bit more information, almost like she couldn’t help herself, poor woman.
She’d revealed that Belinda’s ghost is a man who’s quite full of himself. If he was even slightly narcissistic, and heterosexual, I had a plan. Tonight, I would give him something extra.
A little cleavage and some alluring makeup might be just the thing to lure Belinda’s evasive ghost around the doorway and out of the shadows.
Chapter 10
Standing at the doorway where I’d seen the ghost wearing a long coat the night before, I waited for Carlos to get the camera set up on the tripod across the foyer. I recalled the configuration of the room, the distance from the doorway to the staircase, the color of the fabric on the two chairs by the long table. After so long of nothing, I remembered everything. And after months of not seeing color or movement, it had been like a long drink of water on a hot day to have vision again. The thought that my eyes weren’t sending me the picture of the room, however, was something that had kept me awake last night.
My eyesight hadn’t returned.
It was my psychic sight that gave me the view of the room. It didn’t feel different from eyesight except that when I closed my eyes, I still saw the room just as clearly. I knew that because I’d closed my eyes and had been shocked the image didn’t go black with my peepers shut.
Lying in bed last night, thinking about this, I’d asked myself if I could have only one of my sights back, which one did I want? I could spend weeks pondering this, not that I’d been granted one wish, like a genie in a bottle. What I’d experienced last night, had kept me thinking until the wee hours of the morning. Psychic sight allowed me to see even if it was temporary, but existing as a sighted person with no telepathy would rob me of the gift that defined who I was.
I’d gotten used to helping ghosts, used to the gratefulness I felt when I made contact, used to how important my life’s work felt. It wasn’t about the YouTube show. That thing made it possible to afford to do the work. It was about being a helper to the trapped spirits between worlds. Spirits who were unable to rest or cross over. Some had been held prisoner for centuries and although I wasn’t sure if ghosts had a sense of time, I had to think that rattling around inside the same house for hundreds of years was like a prison sentence to beings who’d once been people in this world, people with the same sensibilities as I had.
“Ready,” Carlos said from across the wide hall. “Look over here.” He whistled like I was a dog whose attention he sought.
I stood up straight, got my hands out of my jacket pockets and stared to where I heard the whistling. “How’s my focus?”
“Perfect,” Eve said, quietly.
“Are the lights on?”
“Just one lamp to your right. On the hall table. It’s dim,” Carlos was great with lighting, always achieving the right effect for the mood. Frankenscar had been covered in the makeup process with something Eve swore made it pretty much disappear. I hoped she was right because the makeup cost me forty dollars and I was a tightwad.
“Count me in.”
“4, 3, 2 . . .”
“Moody here. This is Day Two of our ongoing investigation on the Oregon Coast. We are on the third floor of Cove House continuing our hunt in a house we believe might have multiple spirits rattling around inside these walls. Having visited the local museum today, we learned several things that might help us understand what we’re up against. One, is that the ghost of the man has attitude. He is known to be attention-seeking, or full of himself as it was told to me. Of course, that makes us hopeful that we’ll be able to draw him out.” I wondered if Carlos was doing a head shot only, or if our viewers could see my ample cleavage. I shifted and held up two fingers. “And two, we realized that the cove in front of the house very possibly could have been used to further the smuggling efforts of the former occupant, Mr. Stevens. It’s a perfect little bay to anchor a ship and send goods to the beach. Watch this.” I waited three seconds, until Carlos yelled “cut.” I scratched my nose, something I’d been meaning to do for twenty long seconds. This was where we’d cut to footage of the coastline.
“Looked good,” Eve said. “Want to try another one?”
We often did two versions, just in case. “Sure.” I readied myself.
“4, 3, 2…”
“It’s after midnight and we’re on the third floor of Cove House, in an ongoing investigation of this old mansion we know has at least one ghost, if not more. Last night I heard footsteps on the third floor, where we are now. Boot steps. Of a heavy man, walking quickly. Carlos has checked to find no one else here, unless you want to include a cat who was seen roaming the house yesterday. The steps heard came from this part of the long hall. Today, we learned more about the man who owned this house after the original owners. He was operating on the wrong side of the law. Our source tells us when he returned from his jail sentence, he mysteriously disappeared. Maybe he’s still wandering around inside the house. Tonight, we will try to summon him. Mood Peeps. Grab the edge of your seats. Carlos, cut the lights. Mood Peeps, prepare to be freaked out.”
We often watched the playbacks and decided how much information to give out at a time. In the first version, I didn’t mention the cat. The second version I decided to reveal there was a cat roaming the house to build tension, even though it had nothing to do with our ghost.
Next up, was Eve who was starting to film on-camera spots at my insistence. Eventually, I was going to have to reveal to our viewers that I’d gone blind and when that happened it could only help to have Eve ready to be my on-camera eyes. She’d tell our audience what she saw, something I could no longer do.
“Eve? Are you ready for your walk down the hall?”
I heard her footsteps coming towards me. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Her voice wavered.
“Just keep it simple, like you’re explaining to me.” I threw that out there, although she already knew this.
From my perch in the doorway, I listened to what I believed to be Carlos setting up Eve’s shot. “Eve? Just walk towards the camera and let Carlos enter first, then you.”
“I’ll back in and you stay about eight feet away. Ready?” Carlos asked.
“Ready,” Eve said.
“4, 3, 2 . . .”
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�The rooms up here on the third floor look like they’ve been shut up and unused for a long time.” Eve sighed. “Wait, Carlos. Can we do that again?”
I heard shuffling.
“4, 3, 2. . .”
“The third floor hasn’t seen much attention in the last few years, it looks like, not of the living kind, anyhow. The rooms up here are empty of furniture, except for this one with a desk. Moody says the third floor used to be servant quarters mostly. There’s even a widow’s walk on the roof, although we haven’t been up there yet.”
Their voices drifted off as they entered the room down the hall. In the next bit, I’d be in the room, but I couldn’t be on film right now, shuffling blindly behind Eve, then feeling my way into a room. I heard Eve say, “retake please.” Poor Eve. She did not like being on camera.
While waiting, my vision lightened slightly, flickered and then I saw the dim outline of the staircase railing in front of me. The stairs were dark but partly lit by the lamp at the end of the foyer to my right. It was happening again. I blinked frantically, willing my sight to return, to speed up.
“Are you here?” I stood taller and looked around. A painting of mountains and a raging river hung over the table. As the scene took on color, my heart pounded in my ribs, so hard I thought it might break one. Then, I felt the presence of something close, someone watching me. I moved out from the doorway, spinning around, searching the area, visually. Knowing I was looking around the hallway was incredible to me. I could see.
Eve and Carlos laughed from the room down the hall and I heard Eve say, “Take five.”
It was then that I saw him, my ghost. On the stairs. He stood several steps down, facing me. He was faint at first, but within seconds the man in front of me was as clear as if a neighbor had come to say hello. Only this visitor wore a long coat, the back tails reaching the top of his cuffed boots, a shirt with a large collar, a leather vest, knickers, and was startlingly handsome with clear eyes and black facial hair.
“How is this possible?” I whispered.
He stared as if he was waiting for me to focus on him. Our eyes locked for five long seconds. Belinda was right in telling Joan he was handsome. He looked like a movie star waiting for the director to yell “Action.”
“I’m blind, but I can see you.” I took two careful steps forward and as I did so, the ghost tipped his head as if to say, “You’re welcome.”
“Who are you?”
The apparition in front of me had black hair, just past his shoulders, a trimmed beard and moustache, and his lips curled slightly as if he was finding all this very amusing. He wasn’t afraid of being seen, not shy after all. The ghost wanted me to see him. I had the sense this meeting was planned on his part.
“I can’t believe I can see you.”
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Carlos and Eve emerged from the room down the hall, Carlos, still filming. Eve cleared the door and saw me near the stairs. “Stop, Bryn!”
The ghost turned his head, saw my companions and in one swoop, jumped over the staircase railing and disappeared. My vision disappeared with him.
“Stop!” Eve said. “You’re at the top of the stairs, Bryn.” Her voice wavered.
“I’m fine,” I said to Eve who was now rushing towards me. I knew she was running by the quick tapping of her footsteps getting louder. Not because I could see her. Not anymore. The ghost was gone, and I was once again blind. “Did you see him?” I asked.
“See who? We heard you talking.”
“The ghost. He was on the stairs. Did you see him just now? He jumped over the railing.” I wasn’t sure if the tape was still rolling. “Are we filming?”
“Yes.” Carlos said.
“Mood Peeps, I’m not sure if you saw what I saw but there was a man on the stairs.” I didn’t try to face the camera but instead, pointed to the staircase as if I still saw it. “The ghost was a man, in a period outfit, probably from the 1800’s. He was slightly translucent at first, then looked more solid. When I said I could see him, he nodded.” My voice was higher than usual, but my news was too exciting to not speak in a squeak on camera. “The ghost made contact. When Carlos and Eve emerged from the room down the hall, he jumped over the railing. Did you catch that on tape, Carlos?”
“We saw nothing from here except you talking to nobody on the stairs. Nada.” Carlos sounded breathless.
I pretended to scan the area, not even trying to look at the camera. “In a minute I’ll have Carlos play back the tape to see if the ghost is on there.”
If he was, this would be the biggest discovery of a ghost ever and the thought of the tape going viral made my pulse race. “He was on the stairs, looking at me. He wore a long coat, knickers and tall boots. Let’s review the tape and see if we got him.” I put my hands to my head as if I couldn’t believe what had just happened. “I have never seen a ghost so clearly before. When I asked if he heard me, the ghost gestured like this.” I turned my head to the side and dipped my chin to say you’re welcome. “This is mind-boggling. Carlos. Let’s get a reading on the stairs, see what our equipment says, and we’ll take it from there.”
As Carlos passed me, I smelled Eau Sauvage, the scent that matched Carlos’ personality. Solid and exotic.
“Nada.” Carlos said from the stairs. “Zero.”
I assumed we were still filming. Eve might now have the camera. She knew how to hold it steady, zoom in for a closeup.
“There is no indication of any paranormal activity,” Carlos said. “Or anything on the stairs.”
“Impossible,” I added. “He was just there.”
Eve took my arm and led me back from the edge. Apparently, having a blind person near a staircase was unsettling.
“The camera is off,” Eve said. “Bryn? Were you pretending to see a ghost?”
Did I sound like I was pretending? “No. I saw a man on the stairs.”
“With your peepers?”
“Kind of.” It was hard to explain. “I saw the stairs and I saw you come out of the room. You’re wearing that jacket I gave you for your birthday and pink skinny jeans. Your hair is in pigtails, which looks very cute with the bows, by the way.
“Arigatou,” Eve said. I often forgot that she spoke five languages, her favorite being Japanese.
“You were walking behind Carlos, who, by the way, needs a haircut.”
“Oh, Gods,” Eve said. “You are right. And you can’t see now?”
“I cannot,” I said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “I could be wrong, but it appears I can see in the presence of this apparition, whoever he is. And, he’s shy around you two. When you stepped out of the room, he didn’t disappear, but instead, ran off.”
“That would indicate he’s leaving of his own will, not just disappearing because he can’t remain,” Carlos said from half-way down the stairs.
That was true. Usually spirits tried very hard to remain and faded away.
Eve touched my arm. “We had the mic on high and heard you saying, ‘I can see you.’ Also, you said, ‘I’m blind.’”
“That’ll have to be edited out,” I said, telling Carlos something he already knew.
“I’m not getting a reading of anything over here. No residual of anything on the stairs.” Carlos sounded baffled. “Almost like this area is a dead zone. With none of the usual electro-magnetic ions in the air.”
There was always some sort of reading, even if the click sounded every few seconds. I had an idea. “You two go downstairs. I’m going to try to contact our ghost again. No camera.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Eve’s protectiveness was bothering me tonight and I had to keep from snapping at her.
“You didn’t sign off,” Carlos said. “We need to film an ending.”
That was true. We hadn’t done our usual sign off for the show yet. “Do I look presentable, Eve?”
I heard her approach and felt my cousin’s hands fluffing my hair, fixing the collar of my jacket.
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“Where should I look?”
“Look here,” Carlos said. “Over here. Right here.”
I looked up and assumed Carlos would adjust the camera’s eye to hit my line of vision.
“Count me in,” I said to Carlos.
“4, 3, 2 . . .”
“This has been quite a night. It isn’t even 2 a.m. and we’ve had such a huge blast of paranormal activity that our minds are spinning, and our camera is buzzing. The spirit I saw just now did not want to remain when Carlos, the camera, and Eve arrived. He jumped over the banister, not fading away like ghosts usually do, but exiting. There were a few seconds when the others might have seen him, but they were looking at me and by the time they looked to the stairs, he was gone. I’m going to remain here on the house’s third floor for another hour, in the dark, by myself to see if the ghost comes back. Scary? Maybe, but I have the eerie feeling this ghost needs something from me and I’m not about to turn my back on him now. Especially since we’ve come so far. Moody out. For now.”
“And cut,” Carlos said.
Eve laid her hand on my shoulder. “Shall I sit you in one of the chairs by the table?”
“Perfect. I’ll phone you when I’m ready to call it a night,” I said, feeling for my phone in my back pocket.
“We’ll review the tape in the den while you hang out up here,” Carlos said.
“Good idea,” I said. “I’ll just stay here for another hour or so, see if our ghost is still lurking.”
“I wouldn’t call him our ghost, Bryn,” Eve said. “He seems to be just your ghost.”
Chapter 11
I didn’t make contact with the ghost again and went to bed happy, but disappointed he hadn’t come back.
The following morning after breakfast, we congregated in the den where Carlos had set up a crude mixing studio. I knew what the room would probably look like. Drapes pulled closed to make the room dark. Laptops on surfaces, speakers pointed to the desk chair and Carlos at the desk in a T-shirt that probably said something controversial or rude. Eve would be impeccably dressed, her hair pulled back, little to no makeup, and would smell like Happy. That last part I knew for a fact.
